Scream for Help (1984)

I love this movie so much

Powerful

Excellent but underrated film

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Certainly not as bad as some make out, this 1984 Winner movie filmed in New York does take a while to really get going. Rachael Kelly is excellent, albeit in awful 80s clothes, as the child who nobody will listen to when she says she and her mum are in danger from her step dad. The male and female leads help to ensure this is so slow to start with TV soap like performances. Eventually, however, Lolita Lorre and the tremendous Rocco Sisto enter the fray and the joint really starts to jump. Last third is fabulous home invasion stuff with Winner pulling no punches. With uncompromising and non PC approach including gratuitous sex, decently promoted this could have been successful exploitation fare but as it turns out, I for one had never even heard of it. Worth a look, well the second half anyway!

Admittedly Michael Winner will probably never win a lifetime-achievement honorary award for his career as a director, but damned did that man ever knew how to make entertaining & hugely exciting movies! Apart from some of the films he shot with the legendary Charles Bronson (the "Death Wish"-series, "The Mechanic"), most of his work sadly ended up in oblivion rather quick, and this "Scream for Help" might even be the absolute most obscure and painfully forgotten movie Winner ever made. Contrarily, however, this one of the trashiest, most uncompromising & outrageously amusing movies of the 80's and it's guaranteed to make your cheer & chuckle from start to finish, unless of course you just finished drinking an entire bottle of the sourest vinegar there is. The plot is pure standard and derivative guff, but Tom Holland's script is unimaginably fast-paced and Winner's tight direction doesn't leave you any time to nag about the multiple shortcomings. Christie Cromwell is a hyperactive & stubborn teenager who's convinced that her handsome but vicious stepfather Paul Fox intends to kill her mother and run off with the family fortune. Christie uncovers his affair with the sluttish Brenda and tries to warn her friends as well as the police about a variety of failed murder attempts, but no one believes her. Even when she can finally prove the murder conspiracy with photographic evidence, the nightmare isn't over yet, as Paul and his psychopathic accomplices return to kill both the mother and Christie! The main storyline of "Scream for Help" is pure gold already (at least, to exploitation/trash fanatics it is) but particularly the sub plots are almost too demented for words. The triangular relationship between the criminals adds up to the suspense and - most of all – the entire film seems to be a very unsubtle campaign to promote premarital sex! Christie's friends Janey and Josh do nothing else than sleeping with each other and, after an unfortunate accident, Josh makes his life's mission to snatch Christie's virginity. "Scream for Help" is stuffed with socially incorrect elements like this (there's also rape, misogynistic violence and the pushing of people in a wheelchair down the stairs), making it easily one of the most genuine cinematic trash-highlights I've ever beheld. The teenage girl is more skilled in preparing booby traps than the entire A-Team all together, Lolita Lorre (as Brenda) is undoubtedly the hottest chick to have appeared in ONE film only and there's a terrifically absurd and implausible "he's-not-dead-yet" climax! Several of the reviews and user-comments I encountered on "Scream for Help" complain that the music misfits the nature of the film and that the camera placements were horrible more than just occasionally. Yeah, so? According to yours truly, this 'ineptitude' only contributes to increase the fun, trash and sleaze factors of the movie. This is awesome, unhinged and derailed 80's entertainment and if I could rate it 11 out of 10, I'd do it.

I have never seen a movie this extreme. I have never seen characters be so ABNORMALLY straightforward! NOTHING is too sensitive for these persons to say out loud without hesitating. It is just like the director had a plot that would really need a three hour long movie to unfold naturally, but had to speed things up a little.The characters in this movie aren't really afraid of anything. They just plow through their lives like bulldozers. The main character, Christie, is quite cool. Under normal circumstances, a 16-year-old girl would be terrified most of the movie, and never know what to do. But since this movie has an obligation to speed up the turn of events, Christie is an uncompromising expert at just about everything.I strongly recommend that you watch this movie. I've watched countless of b-movies, but I was really amazed by this one and its bizarre dialogs. In fact, it's really not THAT amateurish. The overall feeling of competence is, perhaps, like the TV-series "Degrassi High" or something. The director is the same guy who did "Death Wish".I am still in shock over the fact that this movie exists.

Almost so bad its good............ALMOST. A goofy 80s My-Diary-type of horror flick,told with a young girl narrating. Sort of comes off as an AfterSchool Special. Rachel Kelly stars as an Ami Dolenz look-alike who dresses like a Valley Girl who REALLY needs style counseling. Her rich rich rich mother marries a no good scheamer who is plotting to kill them to get thier wealth to split with his mistress. Only the young girl knows this and no one wants to believe it. Despite thefact the girl can drive she decides to do alot of her investigating on a bicycle,which leads to some of the more outlandishly funny scenes of the movie,with hysterical music pounding away as she bicycles around with fear in heart. This movie has some real groaner moments. for example,there is a blackout in the house,and all the clocks still very obviously are working! and stuff like that. theres also a totally unbelievable love interest, but I wont waste time talkin about that. Just when you think this might be a safe one to watch with the kids,they throw sex into the mix....about 3 times...no wait: its 4!!!! so its not even the goofy kinda Mother daughter fun like,say "Deadly Friend". if you do wanna see a cheesy minor-cult-status movie,by all means rent SCREAM FOR HELP. just make sure you have plenty of beer on hand when you do!